1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to perspective drawing methods and devices. More specifically, the invention relates to an on-site method allowing the artist to capture the perspective of the space in front of him exactly as it is seen by his eyes.
2. Description of Related Art
Artists have been attempting to render perspective drawings of objects for centuries. The most common practice is using the geometrical rules of ‘linear perspective’ invented by Filippo Brunelleschi in the 15th century. This method is done on flat paper and involves using a straight edge and a vanishing point on the horizon line towards which everything in the artist's view diminishes. All drawn objects shrink along straight lines that converge at the vanishing point to give the allusion of space receding into the distance. However, linear perspective is only a close approximation to how space is perceived by the eye. It does not recreate the exact way in which objects appear to diminish as they move into the distance.
Some attempted advances have been put forth over the years, including those described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,008,528 to Caulfield, 4,432,140 to Santamaria Ulecia, and 5,100,325 to Cutler.
The Cutler patent teaches a kit having an eyepiece and a transparent window onto which the artist draws directly. That is, the artist looks through the eyepiece with one eye open and draws on the window, or on a clear plastic overlay placed over the window. A similar system is taught in the Caulfield patent, which employs a clear curved surface as the drawing surface. Again, as with Cutler, one looks through an eyepiece with only one eye open and draws onto the clear structure. If desired, one may later place a piece of paper over the clear structure and attempt to trace the initial drawing onto the paper. Santamaria Ulecia teaches a device having a flat transparent portion and a flat opaque portion adjacent thereto. One looks through the transparent portion, again with one eye, and draws what one sees onto the adjacent opaque portion.
In all of these systems, one eye is kept closed while a single open eye looks through a transparent surface and enables the scene beyond it to be traced. The consideration of optically perceived space in these systems is limited to investigating only how light rays are taken in by a single eye. Thus, a system that takes into consideration how our brains perceive space with two eyes working in tandem comes as an innovation. There is a long-felt need for a system that documents true perspective relationships as they are seen by the binocular human optical system—a system that creates scientifically accurate drawings that can be used as tools to understand how space manifests to our two eyes.